Storm update: Pacific Coast Highway could be closed until Tuesday

If you find yourself on the roadway in a heavy storm, take precautions to stay safe.
Ventura County Star

These two vehicles got stuck Saturday night when a mud flow covered parts of Pacific Coast Highway in the Decker Canyon Road and Yerba Buena Road areas. Authorities said PCH would be closed at least for a day.(Photo: CONTRIBUTED PHOTO/CALTRANS)

A miles-long stretch of Pacific Coast Highway could be closed until Tuesday as crews work to clear mud and debris after a weekend storm.

Shortly after 7 p.m. Saturday, water and mud came down the steep hills above the coastal highway, clogged drains and swept across the lanes.

The debris flows were reported in several spots near the Ventura-Los Angeles county line.

As of late Sunday afternoon, the coastal highway remained closed between Las Posas Road near the Oxnard Plain and Encinal Canyon Road in Malibu, across the county line.

Additionally, Decker Canyon Road, also known as State Route 23, was closed between PCH and upper Mulholland Highway. The route connects PCH south of the county line to Highway 101 in the Conejo Valley.

On Sunday afternoon, Caltrans said on Twitter that both closures could remain in place until Tuesday.

No injuries were reported, but some vehicles were stuck.

One person with the Twitter name @rangerpilot tweeted around 10 p.m. Saturday about being helped from the area by Caltrans personnel.

More rain was expected to arrive in Ventura County starting Sunday evening. Amounts were forecast to be less than Saturday's downpour, according to the National Weather Service. About three-quarters of an inch, or possibly an inch, was predicted to fall in some parts of the county, said meteorologist Kathy Hoxsie with the Oxnard office of the National Weather Service.

Sunday's rain was expected to fall overnight into Monday morning, but did not appear to pose risk of significant debris flow or local flooding.

"It's always possible that when we had rain last night it loosened a few things," Hoxsie said. Forecasters had a "healthy respect" that something could happen, she added, but they were not expecting significant impacts.

As always, canyons and passes along Pacific Coast Highway could get mud or rocks on the roadway as the area is prone to when rain falls, she said.

As of late Sunday afternoon, the weather service recorded 1.1 inches had fallen at its Oxnard office during the previous 24 hours. In Ojai, about three-quarters of an inch had fallen during the same time frame.

Another storm system is poised to arrive in the Ventura County area late Tuesday night, although it is predicted to bring less rain than Saturday's storm.

On Saturday evening, the weather service had issued a flash-flood warning for Ventura County's south coast as rain gauges recorded rates far exceeding what could trigger debris flows.

The forecast had called for rainfall rates to peak around a half-inch an hour, on the cusp of what could trigger mud, rocks and debris to start sliding. But rain slammed the area between 6 and 8 p.m.

Around 7 p.m., a burst of rain was particularly intense, officials said. The Ventura County Watershed Protection District reported roughly an inch of rain had fallen in an hour in Deer Creek Canyon Park above Pacific Coast Highway.

Kevin McGowan, manager of the Ventura County Sheriff's Office of Emergency Services, said there had been reports of rocks down on Yerba Buena Road, one of the narrow mountain roads that winds up from PCH and through the Santa Monica Mountains.

The area was hit hard in the Woolsey Fire and is expected to take more big hits with winter storms. There were no reports of homes damaged as of Sunday morning, McGowan said, but authorities were continuing to assess the area.

No evacuations were ordered before the storm, but the county's Office of Emergency Services sent an alert Saturday morning to residents in the south coast area who are signed up for the emergency notifications. McGowan said the message advised residents that a storm was coming and to be prepared.

By 7:45 p.m. Saturday, a flash flood watch was issued for other burn areas in the county, including Oak Park, Thousand Oaks and Agoura Hills. Generally, rainfall was less intense in those spots than along the south coast and similar to those in an early December storm.

In Oak Park, the westbound lanes of Kanan Road were shut down east of Lindero Canyon Road due to flooding. Most of the water had cleared by Sunday morning.

Authorities also had a report of a flooded Thousand Oaks backyard but no homes that were inundated with water or mud, McGowan said.

In the Los Padres National Forest above Ojai, snow was reported in the Lockwood Valley and surrounding mountains. Snow and ice closed Highway 33 Saturday night from the Rose Valley Road area to Lockwood Valley Road. The closure was lifted Sunday afternoon, though restrictions such as chains or snow tires remained.